Page 101 - Veritas Vol 3, Issue 2

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The main purpose of studying taphonomy is to explain how and why fossilised
skeleton conglomerations end up in the context they were found. It refers to the

study of processes that happens to biological organisms from the time of death

to the time of finding it. The study of taphonomy has become incorporated into
forensic anthropology ,which helps to reconstruct And interpret the events

associated with deposition and changes That happens to human remains.
Forensic taphonomy is the term used in medico legal context, which studies the

postmortem processes, its preservation, recovery, which aids in reconstructing
the factors or circumstances that may lead to death. Human remains go

through certain series of taphonomic processes which are affected by various
factors.The major environmental factors which affects the decomposition of a

body includes temperature, humidity and pH of soil. By applying forensic
taphonomic techniques,An investigator can determine postmortem interval,

perimortem and postmortem processes and also in distinction of natural from

human induced trauma. Approach to forensic taphonomy can be done through
two aspects. It includes geological aspects, which studies how a person who
buries a body affects the surrounding environment and how the body gets

affected by surrounding geological environment[Geotaphonomy] and

Biological aspects to study how the body remains' tissues get
decomposed[Biotaphonomy].

Decomposition of Body after Death:

Decomposition can be described as a natural process in which body organs and
its assemblages breakdown into less complicated organic matters.Soft tissues

are the first to become modified after death. The postmortem changes occurring
to soft tissues can be denoted by 3 stages; Algor mortis, Livor mortis and Rigor

mortis.

Algor mortis: It is the process of cooling of body after death. The rate at which
temperature cools down depends on temperature differential between the body

and the environment, but in general body cools at the rate of about 0.8 degrees
Celsius per hour during the first 12 hours after death.

VERITAS VOLUME: 3, ISSUE: 2 WRITER: SAJAN SAHADEVAN